Apples in NC: Lost Treasure Found
By Karl Galloway
It’s fall and we’re digging into our closets for chunky sweaters, sliding into comfy slippers, and flipping through recipe books for comforting stews, soups, and baked goodies. In North Carolina, apples shine this time of year. Whether they’re sliced for pies, cooked down into applesauce to accompany pork chops, or just baked with a LOT of butter, these sweet-tart fruits are a classic fall treat. Apples are not native to North America, having been brought by European settlers around the 1600s. Over the past 400 years, knowledge of many original varieties has been lost, with truly old apple history being preserved largely by word of mouth. Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Red Delicious all probably sound familiar from trips to the supermarket, but what about Greasy Skin, Jellyflower, or Big Andy? Before the late 1970s these old varieties, known as heirloom apples, wouldn’t have been found in traditional grocery stores. This is due in part to distinct cultivated qualities that often make heirloom apples better for cider, vinegar, or cooking; not very marketable to our modern snacking palates.
Had it not been for the work of Creighton “Lee” Calhoun, much of this old apple history would likely have disappeared. After retiring in the late 70s, Calhoun started growing some Red Delicious apples on his homestead in Pittsboro, North Carolina. A neighbor suggested he try some older varieties and thus began a decades-long treasure hunt. He traveled throughout North Carolina, stopping at houses with apple trees growing to ask what kind they were. He’d often take twigs to graft onto rootstock in his orchard. He put out ads in newspaper and spoke with people whose grandparents were alive in the 1800s, and who still remembered the old names. Through his work, Calhoun saved hundreds of old cultivars and uncovered a history that had been idling in backyards, roadsides, and church gardens for centuries.
Calhoun’s work is preserved at the Horne Creek Living Historical Farm, and you can find inspiration in his book “Old Southern Apples.”
The next time you’re thinking of baking a pie, you might like to branch out from the usual Granny Smith. Maybe a Carolina Red June?
